The Midnight Feast
by Ereshkigali
Summary: [DISCONTINUED] Tyson sneaks into the kitchen for a snack...and Kai follows him...[part two of three] [TyKa]
1. Of Cookies and Hot Chocolate

**Kai:** You've written yourself into a corner in _Forever_, haven't you?

**Reshki:** Aha, ha…not…exactly…

**Tyson:** Yes, you have.

**Reshki:** Fine! Yes! I have! _(bashes head against convenient hard surface)_

**Inspiration:** It's my fault. I quit on her. _(grins evilly and waves chainsaw around)_

**Reshki:** OK, I solemnly swear that I am NOT abandoning _Forever_. I don't abandon stories. If I post something, I finish it – it's as simple as that. However, until I _do_ manage to finish it, I will be writing…

**Kai:** Here it comes.

**Reshki:** …A THREE-SHOT! It's not very original, but it's something. Please enjoy…or don't. It's your choice.

* * *

**Warnings:** Well…it's a TyKa fic…which means that Tyson, who is a guy, falls in love with Kai, who is also a guy. Also, it's not exactly an exercise in characterisation; it's focused more on vague, fluffy humour than soul-searching. _Forever_ is getting so heavy that I decided to do a lighter fic. Incidentally, if anyone can guess what literary device I used in Chapter Eight, I will be very, very impressed!

**Disclaimer:** Beyblade is not my property…as I have said many, _many_ times before…

* * *

Kai was woken by the sounds of someone falling over and swearing very loudly.

He glanced through the darkness at the table next to his bed, remembered that Max and Tyson had abducted his alarm clock, and sighed crossly, blinking twice to clear the sleep from his eyes. The sounds from outside his door continued; it now sounded as though someone had walked into a wall, and wasn't very happy about it.

He got up, sighing in annoyance, trying and failing to repress the small, tender smile that came to his face, and opened the door, peering out into the dark passage.

"Either you're an unbelievably incompetent burglar, or you're unbelievably incompetent, full stop," he announced in a bored whisper, leaning against the door frame and staring fixedly at the ceiling, folding his arms across his bare chest, ignoring the surge of helpless affection that was filling him.

"Hey! Kai!" Tyson whispered back, enthusiastically, from the floor. "C'mon! Let's go sneak a snack!"

"Go to bed, Tyson."

"Ah, why not?" Tyson asked, getting up and bouncing over to Kai, grabbing his arm, looking up hopefully into his face. "It's midnight, isn't it? OK, so actually it's twenty past, but who cares? I'm hungry! Let's eat!"

"No thanks," Kai said, trying to pull his arm away. Tyson held on with both hands, and started tugging him up the passage towards the kitchen.

"You," he puffed, "are having a midnight feast with me – and that – is final."

"I'm not hungry," Kai told him, firmly.

"So? I am," Tyson said, comfortably, and pushed him into the kitchen. Flicking on the light, he yawned happily and yelped, "Cookies!"

Kai, wincing at the sudden burst of brightness, sighed, and sat down on a chair, hooking one leg over the other as he leant back and folded his arms again. Letting his eyelids fall closed, he listened drowsily to the sounds of Tyson darting around the kitchen, the sharp cracklings of plastic packaging, the clink of mugs, and the soft, rumbling roar of the kettle beginning to heat up. It was only then that he realised that, if it were past midnight, then the date would be…_that_ date.

For a moment, he almost considered mentioning it, but decided against it. It would only give Tyson an excuse to get excited, then nostalgic, and eventually sappy – and as if Kai hadn't already been far too obvious about how important Tyson was to him over the past few months. Mentioning this would be about as tactful as hitting him over the head with a bunch of roses and several large boxes of chocolate…an idea which, admittedly, had its upsides. Tyson would probably spend the rest of his life at the beck and call of _anyone_ who provided him with chocolate, but…

Kai didn't actually intend on tellingTyson anything in the near future. Kai didn't talk about his emotions _at all_. The fact that this particular emotion left him feeling helpless and dazed, as well as coming very close to completely eradicating any self-control he had, didn't make things any different.

The fact that he was in love didn't make things any different in the slightest.

He shook himself, opening his eyes to the deep, yellowy glow of the kitchen light, shivering slightly. It was getting colder; it was the middle of autumn, now.

"Tada!" Tyson sang into his ear. "Look what I made!" His arm curved around Kai's back, and set a mug down on the counter with a small, dull clink, spilling a little of the hot chocolate as he did so.

"Thanks," Kai said, quietly, unable to stop himself from leaning back against Tyson's arm, which was now draped companionably about his shoulders. He coveted Tyson's friendship, even if he didn't show it; he loved Tyson's touch.

"And…" Tyson was grinning against his cheek, "…look what I _found_!" He waved a packet of chocolate-chip cookies around triumphantly.

"Am I supposed to be impressed?" Kai enquired sourly, regaining some self-control and jerking Tyson's arm off his shoulders. "Because believe me – I'm not."

"We'll share them out!" Tyson enthused, pulling up a chair and sitting down, his knees squashing against Kai's. "One for you…one for me…one for you…no, wait, hang on, you can just have one, and I'll have the others. How d'you like that?"

"Whatever," Kai said, taking the cookie that Tyson was dangling in his face and staring at it resolutely.

"So!" Tyson began, munching away. "Any reason why you ambushed me in the passage?"

"I'm only surprised you didn't wake up the entire house," Kai responded. "You have to be the most uncoordinated person I've ever met."

"I wasn't _that_ loud, was I?" Tyson asked. "Whoa. If Hilary catches us, we're in trouble. She's out to get me, I swear."

Kai said nothing. He knew from long experience that Tyson would go on talking for a very long time before he noticed that he was getting no response.

"D'you miss your alarm clock yet?" he continued. "Maxie and me figured that you were going to kill yourself waking up at five in the morning like that. How d'you like being normal for a change?"

Kai shrugged noncommittally. He wasn't in a talking mood, but he didn't mind listening to Tyson. It comforted him, in a strange way. He just didn't feel like responding.

"I mean, there is no _way_ you can survive waking up that early your entire life. The whole point of being a kid is that you get to sleep in! And watch too much TV. And eat a lot. And do…other stuff that adults can't do."

Kai gave a neutral grunt.

"Dude?" Tyson asked, after a slight pause. "Uh…are you…OK?"

"I'm fine, Tyson."

"Cool. It's just that…you haven't looked at me at all, and…"

"I'm _fine_," Kai repeated, still studying the cookie intently. "I just don't appreciate being woken up and force-fed junk food at twenty-five to one in the morning."

Tyson said nothing for a moment, and then put down his mug and leaned against Kai silently, resting his head on the other boy's shoulder. Kai held very, very still, feeling that same pang of yearning shoot through him. "It's today, right?"

Mutely, Kai nodded.

"I thought so!" Tyson said, popping a cookie into his mouth and chewing thoughtfully, wriggling up against Kai a little more, cuddling against him. Kai, having realised that his heart rate had sped up considerably, bit down on his lip hard, and tried to ignore the miserable, whimpering longing that was growing inside him. "I _didn't_ get the date wrong after all!" Tyson continued, happily. He considered something for a moment, before checking, "It _is_ three years, right? Or is it two? Hang on…"

"It's three, you idiot," Kai managed to say.

"I knew that."

Kai snorted.

"I did!" Tyson insisted, in as injured a tone as he could with his mouth full of chocolate chips. "How could I forget, dude? Three whole years since I met you…it's kind of cool, don't you think?"

"No."

"Oh, come on!" Tyson twisted around, his chin digging sharply into Kai's shoulder, so that he could look up at him. "I survived three years with you as my friend. I deserve a medal for that." Kai shrugged, hitching his shoulders back uncomfortably. He was still staring at the cookie. It wasn't that he was afraid to look at Tyson; he was afraid that if Tyson looked at him, he would _see_.

Tyson knew him too well by now. Tyson had always understood him: he had understood that when he needed solitude and when he needed support. Tyson was the only one he was interested in blading against anymore; Tyson was the only one he could trust to be strong, to keep fighting until the end, to truly challenge him. Everyone else was just practice.

"Are you going to say anything?" he was asking, in a small, nervous voice.

Again, Kai shrugged, wanting very badly to hit himself.

"Are you going to look at me?"

"No," Kai said, hoarsely.

"Why not?"

He drew in a deep, steadying breath, and said, "I don't have to if I don't want to."

"Three years and you haven't managed to figure out how to be nice _yet_?"

Kai did look at him, then; he turned his head slowly, and looked down into Tyson's hopeful, expectant face, and smiled, just the littlest bit, lifting one corner of his mouth slightly. Tyson, for his part, beamed back up at him, his entire face lighting up, his eyes brightening, and he laughed, and almost shouted, "You _do_ like me!"

Kai felt something inside him twist up and melt. Tyson was more alive than any other person he'd ever known, and that was one of the many, many things he loved about him. He gave the smallest "huh" of derisive laughter, and bent his face further downwards, resting his forehead against Tyson's, pressing their faces together, and said, gently, "No, I don't."

Tyson flung his arms around Kai's neck, and squeezed him tightly, still laughing. "Yeah, you do! Heh, Kai, admit it! I have got to be the most popular guy in the world if I can get _Kai_ to like me!"

Kai ignored him, slowly letting his hands creep up Tyson's back and into his hair, feeling almost frightened by the swirling, tumbling sensations zipping through him. His heart was beating so rapidly that he was almost shaking with it; and Tyson was pressed against his chest and laughing, and he was holding Tyson against him so closely, and he was smiling so much that he thought he couldn't stop, and…

Tyson slipped off his chair, and pulled slightly away, his arms still linked loosely around Kai's back. "You just _hugged_ me!" he said.

"So?" Kai snapped.

"That's…like…impossible!" Tyson exulted. "And it happened! OK, I had a dream about it _once_, but that was…um…yeah…" he broke off, looking embarrassed.

"Excuse me?" Kai asked, deciding that deciphering Tyson's babbling this late at night was not the easiest thing to do.

"What? I…you…joined up with the Blitzkrieg Boyz, and I went training with Daichi, and I…had this _weird_ dream…and you were in it, and…yeah. You hugged me. No big deal." Tyson drew in a deep breath and steadied himself. He was, Kai noticed, blushing slightly. "Are you going to eat that cookie?"

Kai snorted. "Is that all you ever think about?" he asked.

"Not exactly," Tyson said, grinning, and, picking up the cookie, held it against Kai's lips. Startled, Kai took a bite, chewed and swallowed, and frowned up at Tyson. "Hey, I have to make sure you eat something sweet this year," he shrugged. "It's, like, a requirement of being a teenager! Seriously, dude, eat it!"

"Tyson…" Kai began, trying to sound stern, but Tyson poked the remainder of the cookie into hips mouth before he could close it again. Kai, glaring up at him, chewed it mutinously, and swallowed it. Tyson just smiled, his fingers still brushing Kai's lips; Kai, shivering in a web of violent, trembling feelings, forgot to be angry.

"Yay! Chocolate conquers all!" Tyson said, happily, trailing his hand up Kai's face and slipping into his hair, the other arm still looped around his shoulder. "Come on, Kai! Just one more smile for me? Just one? Please?"

Kai smiled.

* * *

**Reshki:** Ah, well. I write better in the first person, I think. So…yeah. More weird TyKa stuff. It's not done yet! Three-shot-ness prevails! In related news, I've _finally_ managed to get hold of an actual Yu-Gi-Oh! manga _(sighs happily and rereads for the billionth time)_, which of course got me back into the whole Yu-Gi-Oh! thing…

**Bakura:** …which means that I might be appearing in a oneshot very soon! Worship me, mortals! I'm hot!

**Kai:** You just keep popping up, don't you? You are not a Beyblade character! Go away! And, just by the way, since when did I sleep shirtless?

**Reshki:** _(sings) It's my fanfic and I'll do what I want to…do want I to…do what I want to…I would be thrilled if people reviewed!_

**Kai:** There is something very wrong with this world.


	2. Of Cynicism and Nostalgia

**Kai:** You know, the only reason I'm shirtless in this fic is that _someone_ stole my pyjamas.

**Reshki:** Oh, d'you mean these? The ones with the little fluffy sheep everywhere?

**Kai:** …those aren't mine.

**Reshki:** If you must know, you're actually shirtless because Tyson bribed me.

**Kai:** Oh…um. _(blushes, which is _not _something you see everyday)_ Well. I guess…I guess that's alright, then.

**Tyson:** Heh.

* * *

**Warnings:** Guy-on-guy stuff, and vague vandalism of property. Be afraid.

**Disclaimer:** Um…duh.

* * *

Tyson yawned, and stretched, and glanced at the clock. Seventeen minutes of complete silence…not that that was anything new, when you were around Kai.

He glanced over at the other boy, who was leaning back in his chair, his arms folded across his bare chest. He was obviously awake, as he was tapping a finger irritably against one arm, but his eyes were closed. Tyson grinned, only slightly evilly. This looked like a perfect opportunity to drool over Kai unnoticed…as if he didn't do that way too much already.

So Tyson stared.

He decided that he could get used to this: sitting in the kitchen eating cookies while gazing at a half-naked Kai. The long, familiar scars gleamed slightly against the older blader's pale skin, and the soft, smudged shadows shifted as his chest rose and fell with each breath, and the skin of his throat looked so smooth, and soft, and warm…and…and…and…

Kai opened his eyes. "Problem?" he enquired.

Tyson immediately chomped down on a cookie. "Nope!" he said, cheerfully, his mouth full. "No problems at all…ow!"

"What now?" Kai sighed.

"Ow!" Tyson yelled, clamping a hand over his mouth and bobbing up and down in pain. "Man! I bit my tongue! Ow, ow, ow…"

Kai rolled his eyes slightly, which made Tyson forget about his aching tongue. He _hated_ it when Kai rolled his eyes. It made him so mad he couldn't think straight…even though it was very, very adorable.

"You could at least show some sympathy, you know," he said, reproachfully, his words slurring slightly. "It hurt."

"Are you done being pathetic?" Kai asked, completely ignoring him. "If so, you should get back to bed."

"Aw, dude!" Tyson protested. "I'm still wide awake! Just a little bit longer?"

"Fine. Not like I actually care." Kai closed his eyes again.

Tyson, growing bored, began humming very quietly: just a small, pointless, slightly off-key tune that was as annoying as possible. He kept his eyes on Kai, waiting. Any second, now, he was going to snap…his eyelids were flickering, and his jaw was clenched…Tyson hummed a little louder…any second now…

Kai's eyes shot open, and he glared at Tyson, who gazed back, as innocently as he could. "Hey, Kai!" he said, brightly. "What's up?"

"Knock it off," Kai said, sternly, and closed his eyes again.

"OK, OK," Tyson sighed. "Geez, I'm just teasing you, dude…lighten up a bit."

Silence.

Tyson studied him, and said, eventually, "You know what your problem is?"

"No, and I don't want to."

"Your problem," Tyson declared, forging on ahead bravely, despite being met on all sides with the standard, meticulously indifferent cynicism, "is that you never have any fun."

"Oh, that's strange," Kai drawled, caustically, "seeing I've been enjoying myself so much this evening."

"Come on!" Tyson insisted, brushing the sarcasm aside. He didn't mind it as much as he used to. Being mean and sarcastic and grumpy was what Kai did. It got annoying, but he didn't mind. After all, Kai was…

…special.

In about a hundred different, grouchy, pain-in-the-neck, unforgettable ways.

There were times when Tyson had absolutely no idea why he liked Kai so much; and there were other times when it seemed like the most natural thing in the world. It didn't really make a whole lot of sense, but that didn't bother him to much. Kai very rarely made a lot of sense, anyway. They were friends, and Kai was safe with him, and that was all that mattered.

"Let's do something fun!" he continued.

"…Let's not."

"Like…like…hey, hey, I know! Follow me!" Tyson enthused, having been struck by sudden inspiration. He was going to make Kai get _sappy_ – something which, to date, only he had ever been able to able to pull off. It was something of a privilege, and one of many. For example, no one else, Tyson knew perfectly well, _ever_ touched Kai; no one else could make him feel guilty; no one else spent nearly as much time with him. Most importantly, Tyson was the only person Kai ever smiled at.

He was quite proud of it all. He liked to know that Kai considered him to be special.

So he plonked the mugs down next to the sink, chucked the now-empty cookie packet into the dustbin, and jumped up, firmly grabbing Kai's hand and towing him out of the kitchen. He flicked off the light with his free hand as he did so, so that a deep, velvety darkness blossomed around them.

"Tyson, this is pathetic…" Kai muttered, as Tyson began dragging him down the corridors of the dojo for the second time that night.

"No, it's not! Just a little further now!" Tyson said, excitedly, practically bouncing up and down as he fumbled his way along, stumbling over old schoolbooks and discarded Beyblades. At last he slid open a door that led outside, and felt the scented night air, cool and dark as water, cover his skin in coldness. He shivered slightly in his thin, green sweatshirt, and felt Kai give the smallest shudder, before resolutely tensing his muscles. Oops. He hadn't realised how cold it would be out here…it didn't matter. It would only take a second, and then they could get back inside.

"I take there's a point to this?" Kai asked, sounding very fed up.

"Yup," Tyson told him, pulling him over to one of the wooden pillars that ran all around the dojo. "You remember this, don't you?"

He could have sworn he heard Kai's breathing hitch, and then speed up just the littlest bit. "…yes," Kai said, eventually. "I do."

Tyson dropped Kai's hand, squatting down next to the pillar, squinting at the worn, grained surface of the old wood. "Right – here," he pronounced, jabbing his finger at a certain spot. "See?"

"I see," Kai said, kneeling down next to him, his chin almost resting on the younger boy's shoulder. Tyson could hear his breathing, which was shivery, trembling out through chattering teeth. "I…remember."

In the faint light, it was just possible to make out a few, small, carved letters etched into the base of the pillar: _BLADEBREAKERS FOREVER_.

It was accompanied by seven names, each in their owner's handwriting: _Tyson_, _Kenny_, _Max_, _Rei_, _Hilary_, _Daichi_, and, lastly, _Kai_, squeezed onto the bottom of the list and slightly off to the side, where he had deliberately chosen to write it in his steady, precise, unremarkable characters.

"After that last Beybattle with Brooklyn, remember?" Tyson said, unnecessarily. "You and me and the rest of the guys out here…I still say you should have been in the hospital, but you had to be all tough, didn't you? Heh, it seems like it was _ages_ ago now, but it was only a couple of months…" He paused, grinning into the darkness. His plan was _so _working. Any minute now, Kai was going to make a nice, sincere, adorable comment, like he did every now and then, and Tyson would be able to go to sleep happy…

Kai just laughed – and not a very nice laugh, either. It was more of a _snicker _– and a very evil snicker at that.

"Hey!" Tyson protested, feeling hurt. "You're supposed to get all mushy and say something nice to me, you creep!"

"Is that why you dragged me out here?" Kai asked, still chuckling. "Sorry, Tyson, but I'm afraid I won't be making any profound comments tonight."

"Hey!" Tyson said, again. "You…you're…hmphf. I feed you cookies and hot chocolate and this is all you have to say?"

"Evidently," Kai said.

"Dude!" Tyson scooched around, dangling his legs over the edge of the porch, crossing his arms and sticking his nose in the air. "Well, if that's the case then I have nothing to say to you."

Kai gave a soft snort; and then Tyson felt him shift slightly, so that he sat with his back leaning against the pillar, his legs drawn up to his chest, directly behind Tyson's back. Tyson, despite his alleged bad mood, couldn't help leaning back against Kai's legs, wriggling his shoulders slightly, and sighing in comfort, staring up at the night sky, his head resting on Kai's knees.

"It's kind of nice out here, don't you think?" he asked, after a while.

"If you say so," Kai intoned.

"What kind of an answer is that?" Tyson demanded.

"It's the only answer you're going to get."

"Have you ever considered seeing a shrink?" he enquired, deciding that this could be a fun new way to annoy Kai.

"No."

"Well, dude, your people skills sort of suck."

"Thanks for pointing that out," Kai said, acidly. "I'll keep that useful bit of information in mind."

"I'm just saying, there's nothing like good help…" Tyson pointed, smiling gleefully into the soft inkiness of the night.

"Don't even start," Kai warned.

"OK, relax, dude, I'm only messing with you," Tyson said, laughing. "Hey, you don't need anyone poking around in your head. You're fine the way you are."

There was a pause. Tyson had the distinct impression that Kai was embarrassed at that, and felt something akin to triumph. No matter how grumpy Kai got, he could still coax a smile out of him…

"If you're still trying to get me to reflect on friendship and say something nauseating, it's only fait to let you know that it's really not working."

…or not. Pah. He'd work something out eventually. For the moment, though, he contented himself with picking up a leaf and throwing it at the older boy; it drifted on the air and fell short, twirling down idly to the ground.

He leant back against Kai's legs, letting his hands fall flat onto the wooden porch, closing his eyes. It was still pretty cold, but Kai, surprisingly, was warm, and very comfortable, so he supposed it wouldn't really matter too much if he just zoned out for a bit. He let his thoughts wander, shifting to his side slightly to get more comfortable.

He heard Kai say, "Tyson…?" but wasn't really listening. He liked being here, snuggled up against Kai; he liked being anywhere near Kai, even if Kai was being mean…he moved again, trying to get more comfortable, and found himself with his face pressed against something smooth and cold, with a pair of very strong, very muscled arms wrapped firmly around him.

OK.

That was certainly an interesting development.

There was only one person in the entire world with arms like that.

"Erm…dude?" Tyson asked, opening his eyes and sitting up, realising at the same moment that was cuddled up against Kai's chest, practically _sitting_ in the guy's lap – and Kai had his arms around him, and one hand was reaching up to brush his cheek…

"Dude?" Tyson squeaked again.

Kai's face was very close now…his eyes, glinting softly in the soft, cold darkness, were curiously frightened…and his lips were parted ever so slightly…

Tyson, deciding that Kai was being _way_ too slow, moved his head forward and closed the gap between them.

* * *

**Reshki:** Ish still unfinished! Twill continue!

**Tyson:** …eventually.

**Reshki:** That "Bladebreakers Forever" thing was unbelievably corny...erk...sorry. Feel free to flame me. It's raining, and I'm cold.


End file.
